Cormac McCarthy could once boast with a rueful pride that his novels sold, not in the thousands, but in the hundreds. Those days are long behind him. The acclaim of critics and the relentless promotion by his publishers have transformed this reclusive craftsman into a literary icon, unblushingly compared to Melville, Hemingway, and Faulkner. Still, it is somewhat surprising to learn that Oprah Winfrey has selected McCarthy’s latest novel for her Book Club pick. Her doing so will ensure McCarthy a larger audience then he has ever enjoyed before. ...